Imperialist Canada

Imperialist Canada exposes Canada’s imperialist past and present, at home and across the globe. Todd Gordon interweaves histories of indigenous dispossession in Canada with the cold facts of Canadian capital’s oppression of peoples in the global South. The book digs beneath the surface of Canada’s image as global peacekeeper and promoter of human rights, revealing the links between the corporate pursuit of profit and Canadian foreign and domestic policy. Drawing on examples from Colombia, the Congo, Sudan, Haiti and elsewhere, Imperialist Canada makes a passionate plea for greater critical attention to Canada’s role in the global order.

This outstanding book will change the way all of us think about Canadian history, culture, and political economy. Documenting Canada’s oppression of indigenous peoples at home, and the plunder, racism and violence of Canadian multinationals abroad, Gordon shows that Canada’s elites are part of a world power structure built on colonialism, racism and dispossession.

David McNally, York University, author of Another World is Possible: Globalization and Anti-Capitalism

A tour de force, a must-read for anyone concerned with bringing about a new world without capital.

Henry Veltemeyer, St. Mary’s University, author with James Petras of Globalization Unmasked: Imperialism in the 21st Century

Imperialist Canada provides crucial insights into the new forms of Canadian imperialism. Rather than blindly endorse the mythologies of ‘peacekeeper’ and ‘good neighbour’, Gordon dissects the grim realities of the Canadian state and capitalism.

Greg Albo, co-author (with Sam Gindin and Leo Panitch) of In and Out of Crisis: The Global Financial Meltdown and Left Alternatives

If you assume Canada always acts as a benign force in the world you should read this book. You may be surprised.

Thomas Walkom, Columnist, Toronto Star

This is certainly not a conventional look at Canada’s economic history or where it fits in the world today. That makes this book refreshing.

Madelaine Drohan, Ottawa correspondent for The Economist

Todd Gordon skilfully succeeds in “encouraging people to rethink Canada’s role in the world.” For that, this book is highly recommended for all engaged in the struggle for social justice across Canada and beyond.

Kevin Edmonds, Basicnews.ca

Subject

Economic Policy/Developing Countries

Published

November 2010

Price

$24.95 CDN

Pages

432 pp (Paper)

Dimensions

5.8″ × 8.5″ × 1.25″

ISBN-10

1-894037-45-6

ISBN-13

978-1894037-45-7

Related Titles

Reviews

Imperialist Canada importantly points out that being the lesser of two evils in comparison to the United States is not a position Canadians should be proud of — being a lesser evil is still a far cry from being a force for good in the world. We can, and should, work toward ending our exploitation and oppression of indigenous peoples at home and other peoples abroad.

It is not uncommon to analyze the world system using the category of imperialism. It is unusual to associate Canada with the term. By putting the two together in his book Imperialist Canada, Toronto author Todd Gordon has provided us with a compelling and important analysis of Canada’s place in the world system. …This book makes a real contribution to a necessary reconceptualization of Canada’s place in the world system, a necessity imposed by the actions of the Canadian state and Canadian corporations both at home and abroad.

Todd Gordon’s new book provides a compelling case that Canada is an imperialist country in its own right. His factual presentation of the matter will reinforce what is already a growing perception among Canadians. … Gordon argues that Canadian imperialism directed against Indigenous people within Canada is ongoing and central to the nature of Canadian capitalism. The book is an important advance over previous explicit characterizations of Canada as an imperialist state that did not develop this side of the analysis.

About the Author

Todd Gordon teaches political science at York University in Toronto and is the author of Cops, Crime and Capitalism: The Law-and-Order Agenda in Canada (9781552661857). His articles on Canadian imperialism have appeared on Znet, Counterpunch, Rabble, and in The Bullet and New Socialist.

ARP acknowledges the financial support of the Manitoba Arts Council/Conseil des Arts du Manitoba; the Canada Council for the Arts; Manitoba Culture, Heritage Tourism, and Sport; and the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund.